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Samus Aran
Samus Aran is an intergalactic Bounty Hunter and the main protagonist of the Metroid series. Her first appearance was in the original Metroid, released in 1986. Her birth planet is K-2L, an earth colony. Samus Aran is a bounty hunter of prestige fame, often employed by the Galactic Federation. Samus's history is somewhat mysterious and is often left with wide gaps. Her past is best described in the Metroid Manga, although Nintendo has never directly confirmed whether the manga is canon or non-canon; some images from the Manga appear in the Japanese Metroid: Zero Mission Gallery. Other than the Metroid Manga, primary sources for her history are Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Other M. Description Samus Aran is a Human. She is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 198 pounds, without her armor. Despite this tremendous weight her body is very slender and narrow. Her hair color is blond, her eye color is blue and she appears to be Caucasian. Samus wears her hair in a ponytail, except for two locks on either side of her head, a hairstyle that is distinctive to her. Samus’ appearance has varied between games. In the original Metroid, her hair was brown, though it would turn green once the player acquired the Varia Suit. If Metroid II: Return of Samus was played with a Super Game Boy, Game Boy Player or Game Boy Advance, her hair would be colored red. It wasn't until Super Metroid that she officially became blond, although the comic colored her hair purple. Samus’s signature hairstyle debuted in Metroid Zero Mission, and has been met with mixed critical reception. This hairstyle has been present in every Metroid game released since. The only exception is Metroid Prime Hunters which, though it retained Samus’s ponytail, was missing the two locks of hair on each side of her head. Previously, Samus had been depicted with a ponytail in Metroid Prime and (briefly) at the end of Metroid II and Super Metroid. Samus’s face structure has also varied between games. Metroid II, Super Metroid, and Metroid Fusion gave her a wider face and larger eyes than later incarnations. In Metroid Prime, her jaw was squarer, her eyes were more deep-set, and her lips were more defined. Zero Mission gave her higher cheekbones and a thinner face than previous installments, and that template has been the basis for every game since. Echoes’s incarnation is possibly the most critically panned appearance of Samus, due to the in-game model suffering from the uncanny valley. Prime Hunters, on the other hand, is currently the most positively received incarnation of Samus. This game gave Samus a face that appeared to be a fusion of Zero Mission’s and Prime’s depiction. Samus retained the deep-set eyes, traditional ponytail, and fuller face from Prime, but also had Zero Mission’s higher cheekbones. Corruption’s is closer to that is Zero Mission, with a thinner, more anime-styled face. A common misconception is that this is the same game-model used for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. However, the two games were developed separately and the Brawl model of Samus shows many notable differences from Corruption’s model. Samus’s appearance in Brawl appears to be a Zero Mission incarnation. On the other hand, Metroid: Other M is perhaps the largest change Samus has ever had to her appearance since Zero Mission, as she is depicted for the first time with short hair and green eyes. While her adult appearance still gives her a ponytail, the two locks on either side of her head have been heavily reduced in size, her bangs have been altered and her ponytail has been moved to the nape of the neck. She also has the beauty mark that Yoshio Sakamoto alluded to in the Super Metroid developer interview, under the left side of her lip. Before the credits, Samus is briefly depicted with her hair down, the first instance of this in 3-D. With her hair down, she has locks of hair hanging over her shoulders. After Anthony steps in, the lock over her right shoulder is no longer there. She then ties her hair back into her ponytail, mirroring the scenes in Metroid II and Super Metroid where she unties the ponytail. A development screenshot pictured her young appearance with black hair. History Early Childhood Samus began life as a young girl on the mining colony of K-2L with her parents, Rodney Aran and Virginia Aran. When she was three years old, her hometown was visited by the Chozo, a bird-like race. They were in need of Afloraltite, which was mined on K-2L by the Federation colonists there. They came in peace, and Samus immediately found a kindred spirit in a Chozo elder named Old Bird. He taught Samus that befriending and understanding others can be used to solve problems, demonstrating this philosophy by showing Samus how to befriend Pyonchi, a rabbit-like creature who remains Samus's companion for many years. Rodney Aran refused the Chozo the Afloraltite they sought, and the Chozo ship left K-2L empty-handed. Unfortunately, a Space Pirate flagship was following the Chozo, hoping for a chance to steal any Afloraltite the Chozo might discover. It landed on the innocent colony and a raid ensued, led by none other than the dragon-like bioform Ridley. Samus, remembering what Old Bird had taught her, attempted to befriend Ridley in spite of his terrifying appearance. Ridley attempted to kill Samus, but Virginia got in the way of the strike, suffering a fatal blow. At the same time, Rodney infiltrated the Space Pirates' vessel and ignited the Afloraltiite the Space Pirates had stolen, thus sacrificing himself and destroying all of the Space Pirates. Ridley was severely wounded, but he survived. The only survivor of the attack was Samus. Soon after the Chozo left, they received a distress signal from the colonists. Old Bird feared the worst, and ordered the ship to return to K-2L. Old Bird and Grey Voice discovered Samus and brought her to their home planet, Zebes. Mother Brain, a sentient organic robot created by the Chozo, predicted that Samus's frail body could not withstand harsh life in Zebes. The Chozo hoped to evade this problem by integrating Chozo DNA with hers and equipping her with the Power Suit, a bio-mechanical armor with the ability to assimilate many weapons and functions. Growing up on Zebes Into her teenage years, Old Bird and Gray Voice trained her in the ways of the Power Suit. They taught her how to use it and that she must use her power to protect others for the good of the galaxy. After a particularly difficult training session, in which Samus failed to destroy the targets she had been asked to destroy because she was not focusing properly, Gray Voice reminded her that if she wanted to survive and protect others, then she must utilize her abilities to the max; second or third place will never do. Samus ran off to calm down, and watched an Iono Feria absorb moisture and ionize it to fly. Samus fed the Iono Feria and picked some flowers in the valley where they were feeding. When Gray Voice came to check on her, she showed him the flowers, which were extremely poisonous Badger Clover. Gray Voice and Mother Brain realized that the Iono Feria carried the Badger Clover to Zebes, and Gray Voice ordered for the flowers and the Iono Feria to be burned. Samus objected to the needless shedding of blood, but Gray Voice insisted. The Iono Feria picked up weapons lying nearby and began to defend themselves. Samus took matters into her own hands and shot the weapons away from the Iono Feria. Samus managed to calm down the Iono Feria, and Mother Brain began damage control. Samus went to a different room to calm down, and Old Bird came to talk to her. He told her that she was ready to leave Zebes and head out on her own. Samus was skeptical, but Old Bird silenced her doubts. Samus resolved then and there to live up to her predecessors' legacy and become the true "Protector of the Galaxy." With the Federation Police At an unspecified point after Samus left the Chozo, she joined up with the Federation Police. While she was in the Police, she was assigned several recon missions, all of which were likely designed to keep tabs on Space Pirate activity in her area. At one point, Samus was assigned to a reconnaissance mission of the planet Jigrad. She was monitoring Space Pirate activity in the area with her comrades Kreatz and Mauk. They ascertained that the Space Pirates had left a remnant of their forces on Jigrad and were forcing the natives of the planet to build a "gaudy building" for no apparent reason. Kreatz had just suggested they all report back to headquarters and regroup with the other recon teams when Samus noticed that the Space Pirates had brought in a group of children to work on their construction project. The children were forced to pass through a sensor at a certain height; if a child failed to trigger the sensor, they were dispatched. The adults working on the building implored the Space Pirates to stop killing children to no avail. Samus was surprised by such a cruel act, even coming from the Space Pirates. The Space Pirate began to taunt the little girl he was preparing to kill, As the Space Pirates opened fire, Samus rushed down in her Power Suit and grabbed the girl, using her authority with the Federation Police to place the Space Pirates under arrest. The Space Pirate leader pointed out that Samus was alone and ordered his men to attack, beginning a firefight. Samus sent the civilians to safety, and continued fighting. Kreatz was worried about the consequences of disobeying orders, but he and Mauk joined the fight as well. After the firefight, there was one Space Pirate left alive. When the Space Pirate happened to crawl underneath the sensor the girl had failed to trigger, Samus decided to kill the Space Pirate just as he had tried to kill the little girl. The Space Pirate begged for mercy, but Samus remembered the murders on K-2L and, in her anger, was going to shoot him anyway. Just then, Samus heard the cries of the little girl, who was immediately comforted by the women of the colony. Samus decided to not shed any more blood and placed the Space Pirate under arrest. Afterwards, Chief Hardy, the commander in charge of Samus and her friends, reprimanded the three for disobeying orders. The little girl came to thank Samus for saving her, but Samus told the girl that she was the one who had saved her. Samus walked off hand in hand with the little girl, who told Samus her name was Damara. Later, Adam Malkovich told Chief Hardy that, while the Pirates were gone, now he had to deal with another piece of baggage: Samus Aran. First Mission to Zebes Some time after the Space Pirates had established a power base on Zebes, the Galactic Federation hired Samus Aran to destroy Mother Brain and the Metroids the Pirates were amassing. After defeating Ridley and Kraid, Samus gains access to Tourian. There, she defeated the Metroids and Mother Brain which activated a self destruct sequence. She managed to escape from Tourian but was attacked by the Pirates in orbit around Zebes and her gunship was shot down. This left her without the protection of her Power Suit with only her emergency pistol for defense and with no choice but to infiltrate the Pirates' Mother Ship. After evading the many Zebesians aboard the ship, Samus finds an ancient test left by the Chozo. After defeating it, Samus gains a more powerful suit that enables her the use of all items she had acquired on the planet. She then works her way to the top of the Mother Ship, where she battles a mechanical version of Ridley known as Mecha Ridley. After destroying the machine, the ship's self destruct is activated. Samus is forced to steal a small Pirate vessel and flee the ship before is destroyed. Tallon IV Incident After receiving a signal from an unidentified distress beacon, Samus tracks it back to a derelict vessel in orbit above Tallon IV and moves to intercept it. Upon her arrival, she discovers the abandoned Space Pirate Frigate Orpheon, where the Space Pirates performed various experiments on life forms using Phazon. Eventually, Samus comes upon the Reactor Core of the frigate, where a Parasite Queen lurks. Samus defeats it, but it falls down the core, setting off a series of explosions that destroys the frigate. As Samus escapes, she encounters Ridley, reborn as Meta Ridley, who escapes the frigate to the planet's surface. Samus pursues to the surface of Tallon IV. As she explores, she comes upon the Chozo Ruins. While there, she learns that the planet is slowly being corrupted by the impact of a large Phazon-laden meteor, which has caused the destruction of the Chozo Civilization on the planet. Samus also discovers that the Space Pirates are mining the toxic Phazon and attempting to use it for their own purposes. She happens upon their research labs within Phendrana Drifts at the Glacier One outpost, where the Space Pirates managed to take some of the Metroids from Zebes and were experimenting on them. While in the outpost, she learns of Project Titan and is later forced to defeat its result, Thardus. She also interrupts their mining at the Phazon Mines, and eradicates the results of their Project Helix experiment, the Elite Pirates, Phazon Elite, and Omega Pirate. Eventually, Samus learns that the source of the corruption was inside the Impact Crater. The crater had been sealed by twelve Chozo Artifacts at the Artifact Temple by the Chozo before their corruption. Amongst their lore, she reads that the Chozo not only foresaw the coming of a Worm, but of the Entrusted One - a prophecy that pointed to Samus herself. Samus gathers the twelve Artifact and opens the Impact Crater, confronting and defeating Meta Ridley in the process. Inside the crater, she encounters the source of Phazon on the planet, Metroid Prime. As the creature is defeated, it grabs hold of Samus' Phazon Suit, but destabilizes. Samus departs Tallon IV, and leaves for another assignment. However, the Metroid Prime survived, as Dark Samus. Aether Incident The disappearance of the G.F.S. Tyr prompts the Galactic Federation to send Samus Aran to investigate. Upon her arrival at the planet Aether, her ship is damaged by magnetic storms and she is stranded on the surface while the ship repairs itself. She discovers that the entire crew of the Tyr has been killed by hordes of creatures called Splinters, and that their bodies have become hosts for an unknown parasitic biomass. As she explores Aether, she happens upon the Great Temple and fights the Alpha Splinter there, acquiring the Energy Transfer Module after defeating it. Afterwards, she meets U-Mos, the Sentinel of Aether and the leader of the Luminoth, who was protecting the final Energy Controller in the Great Temple. He explains that the impact of a cosmic object on the planet caused a division, and that as a result, Aether exists in a state of Transdimensional Flux. He beseeches her to help the Luminoth stave off their enemy, created from that impact, the Ing, using the Energy Transfer Module that bonded with her suit. She accepts, and sets out to collect the planetary energy stolen by the Ing from the Agon, Torvus, and Sanctuary regions to save the Luminoth. During her mission, she encounters her Phazon-powered doppelganger Dark Samus, Metroid Prime reborn using DNA from Samus and the structure of her Phazon suit, and engages her in combat multiple times. She also dismantles several Space Pirate operations on the planet. She finally makes her way to the top of the dark Sky Temple and kills the Emperor Ing, siphoning the last of the stolen planetary energy. This causes Dark Aether to collapse. As she escapes, she encounters Dark Samus again. She engages her in combat, presumably destroying her, and saves the planet. After the incident, the G.F.S. Anhur comes to the planet and helps the Luminoth rebuild. The crew of the Anhur finds Phazon left behind by the Space Pirates and brings it back with them. Phazon Subjugation Corruption About six months after the events that occurred on the planet Aether, Samus Aran is again issued an assignment by the Galactic Federation: she is to travel to the G.F.S. Olympus, the flagship of the Galactic Federation, for a scheduled meeting with Fleet Admiral Castor Dane and three other hunters - Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda. The four hunters are briefed concerning a digital Phazon virus that had spread to several supercomputers dubbed Aurora Units. During the hunters' briefing, a Space Pirate raid on the Olympus is launched via several Space Pirate Boarding Pods. The Space Pirates then launch an attack on the planet being orbited by the Olymupus, Norion, which is one of the most important military planets in the entire Galactic Federation. Samus, Rundas, Ghor, Gandrayda, and the Galactic Federation give chase. On the surface of Norion, the hunters and the Federation realize that the Space Pirates have disabled several power conduits that are needed for the digital interfaces to work properly. Aurora Unit 242 suddenly indicates that a Phazon-like meteor, later revealed to be a Leviathan, is about to crash into the planet and will infect Norion in its entirety with Phazon if it is not stopped. Samus and the hunters are dispatched to restore energy to the downed power conduits, which in turn will power an energy cannon that can be used to destroy the meteor. While Samus is engaged in this task, she encounters Meta Ridley, once again resurrected by the Space Pirates. She defeats him and restores power to all the generators. Once the hunters arrive at the Energy Cannon's controls, they encounter the revived Dark Samus. Dark Samus utilizes her natural ability to generate Phazon and creates a Phazon blast that renders the four hunters unconscious. Samus, however, is able to remain awake long enough to fire the Energy Cannon, destroying the meteor. Phazon Enhancement Devices One month later, Samus awakens and is informed by a trooper that the other three hunters woke up several weeks ago. The hunters were producing Phazon on their own as a result of Dark Samus' attack, but the Federation's medical team noticed no ill-effects, so they outfitted the hunters with Phazon Enhancement Devices. The three hunters had been sent to Bryyo, Elysia, and the Pirate Homeworld to destroy Leviathans that had impacted there, but communications with them were lost shortly thereafter, and so Samus is issued a PED Suit, similar in nature and appearance to those being worn by several squads of Federation Marines, and is issued a new assignment: find and destroy the Leviathans and, if possible, discover what happened to the other hunters. During the mission, Samus discovers that the hunters show signs of Phazon Corruption due to using the PEDs. Each of the hunters attacks Samus when she encounters them, and Samus is forced to terminate them. While on the Pirate Homeworld, Samus learns that the hunters had been completely consumed by Phazon and were under the dominion of Dark Samus. Dark Samus had even placed them in command of the Space Pirate forces on each planet. As she destroys each Leviathan, Samus's body gradually becomes controlled by her natural Phazon, and it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain control while in Hypermode. Destruction of Phaaze After Samus completes her mission, Aurora Unit 242 announces the discovery of a single planet that is the source of all Phazon, called Phaaze, and that Dark Samus has been controlling it using Aurora Unit 313, stolen from the GFS Valhalla. Samus explores the now-derelict Valhalla and discovers a means of travel to Phaaze: the Leviathans are capable of creating wormholes in order to reach their destinations, and the Space Pirates possess a Leviathan rigged to fly like a ship. While the Federation fleet distracts Space Pirate forces, Samus boards the Leviathan vessel and flies to Phaaze. When Samus arrives at Phaaze and steps out of her gunship, the sheer amount of Phazon present in her body causes her Phazon corruption to rise to one-hundred percent. Her ship no longer recognizes her, so passage on the gunship is unavailable until she rids her body of the Phazon corruption. She is forced to vent her energy tanks and enter permanent Hypermode, becoming progressively saturated with Phazon the longer she stays on Phaaze. Once Samus arrives at the Sanctum of the Phazon core, she encounters Dark Samus once again and engages her in battle. Dark Samus is forced to merge with the stolen Aurora Unit 313 as a last resort. With her Phazon levels ever rising, Samus destroys the corrupted supercomputer. Dark Samus emerges from the downed Aurora Unit and makes one last gesture towards Samus before vanishing into a gas of Phazon, never to be seen again. Samus quickly flees the unstable planet. Her objective is completed, but at great cost; many Federation troopers and ships were lost, the lives of each of the other hunters, and great mental distress to Samus herself. With Phaaze eliminated, the threat of Phazon Corruption disappears. Samus flies off in search of a new mission, but she is followed by a mysterious ship. Metroid Homeworld Some time after neutralizing the threat Phazon posed, Samus is ordered to eradicate the entire Metroid population on the planet of SR388. After battling through the numerous Metroids and other hostile creatures, she arrives in the Queen Metroid's lair and destroys the few remaining Metroids found in it. After a fierce battle with the Queen Metroid, Samus emerges victorious and completes her main objective. However, after heading towards her gunship to leave SR388, a Metroid, the last of its kind, hatches from an egg. Instead of terminating the infant Metroid, Samus takes it to the Ceres Space Colony for the Galactic Federation to conduct research on the specimen. Return to Zebes Shortly after departing from the Ceres Space Colony, Samus receives a distress signal indicating that the colony had come under attack by Space Pirates. When she returns to the station, she finds the scientists dead and the Metroid missing. After further exploration into Ceres, Samus encounters Ridley, who is holding the Metroid. She is unable to defeat Ridley before he flees with the Metroid and activates the station's self-destruct. Samus follows the Pirates to a rebuilt Zebes to finish them off and retrieve the Hatchling. On Zebes, Samus encounters several enemies she has encountered in the past, such as Kraid. New additions are also added to the Pirate forces. After defeating Kraid, Phantoon, Draygon, and Ridley, Samus gains access to a rebuilt and pulchritudinous Tourian where she discovers a host of Metroids. Deeper within the lair, she confronts the Metroid Hatchling, which has grown to a massive size; it appears to be in its adult stage. The Metroid feeds on Samus's Energy Tanks and leaves her with a single unit of energy before flying off. Once she recovers, Samus works her way to Mother Brain. Though she manages to destroy Mother's containment vessel, Mother rises up from the ground with a mechanical body. Among her many attacks, Mother fires an energy beam that is powerful enough to immobilize Samus. However, before Mother is able to kill Samus, the Hatchling attacks, draining Mother Brain's energy. The Hatchling then begins replenishing Samus's energy, even as it is assaulted by Mother Brain. After her energy is restored, the Metroid again tries to attack Mother Brain, but it is killed in the process. Samus discovers that as a result of the Hatchling's restoration of her health, all of her beam weapons are replaced by the far more powerful Hyper Beam. She then uses her new-found power to destroy Mother Brain. Immediately after Mother Brain is defeated, a self-destruct sequence is activated. Samus escapes, and the entire planet is destroyed in the explosion. The Bottle Ship Incident A few months after her return from Zebes, Samus, who is no longer under orders, receives a distress signal known as "Baby's Cry," which is emanating from a space station known as the Bottle Ship, and takes it upon herself to respond and investigate the facility. Shortly after landing, she comes into contact with the Galactic Federation 07th Platoon, led by her former commanding officer, Adam Malkovich. Although she is initially left in the dark about the Federation's motives (Anthony Higgs is the only person who treats her amicably), she cooperates with the platoon to take down the Brug Mass. Adam allows Samus to aid the Federation if she will accept his one condition: she must obey orders from him. Her directives take her to three sectors, each with a different simulated environment. She faces many familiar enemies during her stay, along with a plethora of new and bizarre creations, including Nightmare and the RB176 Ferrocrusher. She eventually learns from Madeline Bergman that a rogue group of Federation agents has been, against Federation protocol, genetically modifying the life-forms aboard the ship for use as bioweapons. The group in charge also dispatched an assassin to eliminate anyone who learns this, and this assassin is in the platoon. Much to her surprise, Samus also learns that Mother Brain's AI was used to create an android that could control Metroids, long thought to have been extinguished, and that DNA from her Power Suit was even used to unwittingly clone Ridley. Her desire to stop the rogue agent and resolve the crisis leads Samus to the Bioweapon Research Center, an off-shoot of the Biosphere, where she meets the real Madeline Bergman, and discovers that she and other scientists accidentally created a Queen Metroid. After a long and difficult battle (made worse with the knowledge that Adam sacrificed himself to destroy Sector Zero), Samus destroys the Queen, shuts down the rebellious android, and leaves the Bottle Ship, which has since been marked by the Federation for destruction. She returns before the Federation destroys the ship in order to retrieve Adam's helmet, but her task is hindered by the appearance of another enemy from her past, Phantoon. With the specter's defeat, a self-destruct sequence is activated. Samus races to and climbs into her Gunship, clad in her Zero Suit. As she places Adam's helmet in the seat beside her, Samus reflects on her experiences on the Bottle Ship and narrowly escapes her demise. The X Infestation Return to SR388 Some time after her return from the Bottle Ship, Samus is tasked with guarding a group of Biologic Space Labs research station employees who are studying the life-forms of SR388 now that the planet is devoid of Metroids. While exploring an underground cavern, Samus encounters and dispatches a Hornoad with a Missile before being infected by an unknown, amorphous organism known as an X Parasite. As Samus begins to return to the B.S.L Research Station, the X infects her central nervous system, causing her to lose consciousness and control of her ship, which crashes into a nearby asteroid belt after ejecting an escape pod with Samus inside. B.S.L. employees find the pod and transport it to Galactic Federation headquarters, during which time the X multiplies inside Samus's body, leaving her in critical condition. Infected organic portions of Samus's suit are surgically removed, dramatically altering her physical appearance, but ultimately the X were too deeply embedded in her nervous system to be removed and she was given a minimal chance of survival. Shortly thereafter, a vaccine is developed from the DNA of the Metroid Hatchling to rid Samus of the X inside her body, granting her the ability to absorb the X to regain health and weapons. She also inherits the Metroids' weakness to cold. Once she recovers, Samus, clad in the Fusion Suit, is given a new ship with a built-in computer through which she receives orders, which she names after her former commanding officer, and is sent back to B.S.L. Research Station to investigate after it is marred by a large explosion. B.S.L. Research Station Once Samus is on board the station, she is told to uplink to her ship's computer via a Navigation Room in order to receive her mission directives. She is sent to the Quarantine Bay, the station's holding area for the specimens brought from SR388, and discovers that the specimens are infected with X parasites. Samus is then ordered to find and exterminate the X on board the station so as to keep them out of its six simulated breeding environments, or sectors. Samus travels through each Sector, defeating enemies and acquiring upgrades on the way, including an X-copy of herself, known as the SA-X. Because the SA-X reproduces asexually, like all X Parasites, no fewer than ten are on board the station by the time she defeats Yakuza. With this increase in danger, Samus's objective becomes escaping the station. Her escape is hampered when she encounters a copy of the frozen corpse of Ridley, the second specimen taken from the Bottle Ship. Its eyes glow when Samus approaches, and she is forced into battle with an X version of her nemesis. After she emerges victorious, Samus learns from her ship's computer that the Federation is approaching the station, having taken an interest in the X. The computer explains that the Federation had been withholding upgrades from her to prevent her from attacking the SA-X, and when Samus and her computer argue over Samus's decision to detonate the station, she learns that the computer is in fact her former commanding officer, Adam Malkovich, who died on the Bottle Ship. Adam informs Samus that it is possible to redirect the station's orbit so that SR388 is destroyed with the station's detonation, and her final mission is to change the orbit and escape the station alive. Before she reaches the Control Room, Samus is confronted by the SA-X. She manages to reduce it to its base X form, though it flees before she can absorb it. She reaches the docking bay, only to find her ship missing and an Omega Metroid waiting in its place. It attacks her, leaving her at the brink of death. Before it can kill her, however, the SA-X appears, assumes its Samus form, and attacks the Omega Metroid with its Ice Beam. The Omega Metroid damages it and permanently reduces it to its base form. Samus absorbs the SA-X, regains the Ice Beam, and brutally assaults the Omega Metroid with shots to its chest. It dies, Samus's ship returns, and she escapes the station just before it collides with SR388, obliterating both. Personality Samus' personality has never been detailed in-depth within the context of the games, a conscious decision by Nintendo to help the player imagine themselves better as the in-game character, as well as allowing them to imagine Samus' personality and backstory in any way they wish. However, Metroid Fusion, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and Metroid: Other M are perhaps the most notable games in the series to give of a glimpse of Samus' personality, as well as other media formats such as comics and manga. Typically, Samus is depicted as a melancholic hero who, despite her great achievements, remains incredibly lonely and brooding, and seeks revenge against the Space Pirates, especially Ridley, who is personally responsible for the death of her parents. Samus is known to have been inspired by Sigourney Weaver's character Ripley from the Alien series. However, unlike Ripley, Samus is never shown to be traumatized by the Metroids she faces on her various missions. She was, however, petrified when she encountered Ridley in the manga, where she is seen to suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. This affliction surfaced again when she discovered Ridley in Metroid: Other M to the point that she could barely communicate; she could not regain her composure until Anthony Higgs was thought to be killed while trying to defend her. This portrayal, as well as other parts of her personality displayed in Other M, were strongly criticised by the general fanbase because they portray her as weaker and more unstable or afraid than previous games, creating a persona that is the polar opposite of the general image most fans have of Samus based on her previous appearances and the brief insights into her thoughts and past. However, by the time of the events of Metroid Fusion, these "weak" characteristics are no longer present, suggesting that she has since overcome the weaknesses she displayed in the previous game, and that they were merely a result of the depression she temporarily sank into after the baby's death. Powers and abilities Samus Aran’s infusion with Chozo DNA, as well as her warrior training since her childhood, has turned Samus in a superior athlete. Her training began at the age of 3 and continued up until she was 14 years old. As a result of the Chozo’s influence, Samus is capable of running and jumping heights far past normal human ability, as well as surviving falls that would otherwise kill an ordinary human. Samus is also more adaptive to foreign alien environments that humans cannot survive in, such as the majority of Zebes and Elysia. While Samus does not exhibit any powers that humans do not naturally have (except for the aforementioned capability of surviving in alien environments), all of the normal human limits have been exceeded to the max. Samus also demonstrates good sharpshooting skills. She is an excellent marksman, with incredible aim, and is tremendously deadly in combat. She exhibits prodigious puzzle-solving and hacking skills. She also possesses a lithe figure that allows her to crawl through tunnels and gaps that would normally require usage of the Morph Ball. All of these are, of course, augmented further by her Power Suit. If need be, Samus will engage in physical combat, often using kicks and wrestling tactics to weaken her foe for a point-blank shot. The extent of Samus’ training after she joined the Federation Police is currently unknown, but it is clear that the Federation has made one major augmentation to her abilities: her infusion with Metroid DNA. This infusion was done in a last-ditch attempt to save her life after she was infected with the X Parasite, and thus it was not completely known at the time what the side effects would be. As a result of the infusion, Samus gained immunity to X Parasites, but also inherited the Metroid’s crippling weakness to cold, though this disability is canceled out with a later Varia Suit upgrade. She does not seem to have inherited their ability to float, and still relies on the Space Jump to do so. It is currently unknown whether Samus has inherited the Metroid’s signature ability to leech life energy from other lifeforms, aside from the well-documented X Parasites, though this is likely to be resolved in any sequels taking place after Metroid Fusion. Gallery Category:Nintendo Characters Category:Metroid Characters Category:Nintendo Entertainment System Debut Category:All Characters